TSP Book Club

[Caer Rialis]

As though of you who frequent these boards may know, I am a fan of science fiction. Being a fan of SciFi can be tough, as so much scifi literature is a bit less that good.



I am also a big fan of reading and always participate in the public library summer reading program. This summer's theme, Get in the Game, has us all reading books to fill out a bingo card, matching genres of books read. I had a choice of a Romance Novel, a Self-Help Book or a collection of short stories. You may have guessed it, but I chose a short story collection by Paolo Bacigalupi titled <em class='bbc'>Pump Six and Other Stories</em>



<img src='https://www.nightshadebooks.com/secure/images/products/18_large.jpg' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_img' />



I was floored at the quality of the writing. Bacigalupi was able to use the scifi author's ability to discuss modern issues and debates and set them in the far future. Investigating the use of genetically manipulated crops, advancs in medical care, the struggle for water rights, and other themes, he paints pictures of the future which are quite harrowing. None of the stories disappointed.



My personal favorite was "Pop Squad", which opens with a crime scene, but when you realize what the crime was, you will be shocked. Bacigalupi does that so often in this collection, abruptly sucking you into the story.



If you are a SciFi fan, get a copy of <em class='bbc'>Pump Six and Other Stories</em> from your local library today. You will not be disappointed.

[Caer Rialis]

If you're anything like me, sometimes you just have to sit down and read a good spy thriller. Growing up, as I did, in the care-free, Cold War 1980s, we were really spoon fed the always popular, but seldom challenging, Tom Clancy. I read a half doxen on his books, but there was always something missing. Something I call "character development." A Tom Clancy novel was an easy read. You knew that the good guys were squeaky clean, that they had no real character flaws, and that the bad guys were, well, bad.



Then I read Len Deighton's <em class='bbc'>Berlin Game, Mexico Set</em> and <em class='bbc'>London Match</em> and realized just how bad Clancy was compared to an author who could create believeable characters. Sorry, I may love my country, but British spy thrillers kick the snot out of American ones.



This is what led me to pick up Alex Dryden's <em class='bbc'>Red to Black</em> from my library the other day.



<img src='http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n54/n272167.jpg' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_img' />



<em class='bbc'>Red to Black</em> is a spy thriller that fits well with Deighton's. Set in the early 2000s, the story describes the lives of two agents, Finn, a spy for MI6, and Anna, a young colonel of the KGB. Abandoned by the MI6 when Putin takes power in 2000, Finn begins to uncover elements of which can only be called "The Plan." Anna, the KGB agent set to entrap Finn, has her own complications and soon the pair of agents go feral, attempting to stop the Plan from goig into action. Character development is rich, varied, and throughout much of the novel you are led to guess exactly what is real and what is part of the cover agents receive when doing their dirty work.



Dryden himself had been a journalist covering security matters for numerous newspapers and was stationed in the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Indepedent States, and Russia throughout the 1990s and early 21st century. Whether or not his writing reflects the story as it was, or is simply a ripping good yarn will probably never be known. However, if you want to read a good spy thriller, make <em class='bbc'>Red to Black</em> your next choice.

[Fudgie]

I just read Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" - all in all, not a bad read, but not as gripping as The Da Vinci Code. He was comparatively nicer to the Masons than he was to the Catholic Church - but still - it lacked something. I'm hopeless at reviews. I think I'll quit here